A Solider's Duty
by King Reepicheep
Summary: Reepicheep delivers a speech as he is about to be executed by a firing squad. In Death's POV. Part of "The Power of Darkness and Fear" AU


**A Soldier's Duty**

**part of _The Power of Darkness and Fear AU_**

On December 10th, Cair Paravel was seized by German forces. Six hours later, the occupants of the palace, Caspian, his guards, the Pevensie children, Trufflehunter, and the vesting monarch known as Kashmir were executed on the front lawn.

Reepicheep, who was tortured by Immanuel Jollenbeck, being forced to watch his monarchs and friends pass over into Ether, was granted by virtue of pity, last words before his sentence, execution, in the same manner as his cohorts. He spoke as follows:

"I do not expect you to care. I do not expect to weep, or to have sympathy for us. I know now that this war, which originated from your native ground has reached here. I know that this is the last hope my country has and I know that I am the last one. Congratulations, you have managed to single-handily destroy a nation. I hope you can live with that. I hope you continue forward knowing that all opposition, all barricades and barriers are no longer an issue for you. I hope you understand that you have kept your leader's word and have purified the world into a single blood. I hope you can live with that.

"I look around and see you all, standing in your uniforms clutching your weapons and aiming them at my head. I see you. I see that you were once men, who defied methods of malice and were predominately pacifists. War was not in your heart, and if you examine yourself I don't think it is even now. You were ordered to eliminate me. You were ordered to destroy any opposition and I am the only thing that stands in your way. Why even bother with me? What exactly can I do to turn the tide in my favor? Absolutely nothing. You've won! You prevailed! The old fairytale troupe that good conquers evil is a lie. It is a weak statement that only children use and it is something that is not practical. For if good controls the world then it is doing a mediocre job.

"I doubt you enjoy this. War is never easy, for it requires you to unleash primeval instinct that you honestly wished you never had. It makes animals out of us, and I'm speaking literally for myself. If you possess a brain, and I'm sure a great deal of you do, then you will not shoot me. The only reason you will, is out of spite and that is dishonorable.

"Like most of you I have a family and like most of you, I consistently think about them. I often wonder what my son is doing. If he's playing with friends, enjoying a good book, or simply doing nothing in particular. I often wonder about these things because I am a father, and fathers are supposed to do that. If a father does not wonder about his son then he isn't a father but a ghost that isn't there or a heartless person who does not know what love is.

"I have said this not to instill sympathy or guilt. You are just following orders and I suspect that your superiors are proud of you. If I were them, and I had my heart set on such things then I would reward each and every one of you with a promotion and perhaps a medal."

He looked at his audience and with a loud and prideful voice spoke again:

"Medals and promotions mean nothing! Words from your superior are meaningless if they go against Life. There is no alternative, there is no exception- there is no justification for anything else but Life. It is a soldier's duty. As soldiers, we die for our causes, we do not kill for them. I understand militant procedure and ethics, I wrote a piece of it. I do not understand unjust murder and that is not a soldier but a terrorist. Terrorists justify plagues and plagues give no good substance."

He paused. He was not finished, but he paused, as if to give his crowd a chance to process and time to respond. Looking at the faces, all prepared to end his miserable life, Reepicheep sighed, nodded a few times and listened to the wind. It was dead.

No one was there, just like before, and just like before, no one was alive. I looked down on the Mouse, prepared to catch him. I would not let him fall so dishonorably. I knew his heart and it was grieving. His breath slowed, his eyes wandered, and ever so naturally, a tear fell.

As the firing squad readied and aimed. Reepicheep looked up, smiled a bit and said, "To live is such a beautiful thing. To die is such a-"

I was told once that cherished memories shall never go unfazed or become devalued. For they are precious to the mind, important to the psychological health and instantaneously, with each fond one we grow a bit closer to quintessence. With each sunrise, with each song sung by a blue jay, we receive justification that hope is possible and that life can endure. That's what I was told by a fellow named Nikolay Kiselyov, in the August of 1942.

* * *

This pieces marks the four year anniversary of _"The Kings of the World"_ which was first written on December 10th, 2010.


End file.
